One of my hobbies is walking battlefields and that will probably be the major source of posts. Plus I will post about other things that spark my interest, from oddities found while researching to observations on the war.

Dave Powell suggested in a comment that I should post a picture of the 96th Illinois monument, so here it is. Unfortunately it really doesn't show much of the surrounding terrain. One thing it does show is how think the woods is now. Makes me wish there was an active Friends Of organization like Gettysburg or Antietam that would work to thin the woods. It would probably be a full time job to keep the woods thinned but I've seen the results at Antietam and Gettysburg and it is truly spectacular.

2 comments:

Dave Powell
said...

Actually, the park staff is doing some good work on thinning. Recently, the park has a new Supe and a new Maintanence chief, and both men are interested in addressing some of the historical viewshed concerns. In the early fall, the park was doing a lot of thinning along Battleline Road, so that it was actually possible to see into Kelly Field from the Regulars' position, for example. I think they will continue to chart this course next summer.

It's a pity that you can't show the 96th in context with the rest of Whitaker's Brigade, to demonstrate how far apart they are; and by extension, how misplaced many of these monument are. The 96th Position you have here is their 'final' position of the day, and really only represents half the regiment. Three companies never formed here, having been split off and led by Champion to the center of the line, where they fought until dusk. Two more companies were detached and sent farther west as a flank guard. There is a small stone farther down this same path that shows their position.

And thinning is a monumental task. There is so much to cut and it grows so fast (compared to what I'm used to in dry Colorado). I haven't been back in a year so I missed seeing that cutting, good to know they are addressing that.

I could probably scan in the Trailhead Graphics map to show some relative locations, except at that scale I'm not sure it would do a great job of showing it. But worth a shot.

About Me

I am a Civil War nut. I graduated from the University of Colorado-Denver in 2001 with a BA in History. I'm always searching for more knowledge. I buy a ton of books, though space constraints have limited me of late, and I also download a ton of books. I'm always planning battlefield treks as I think these are important to really understanding a battle. Reading only does so much, walking the fields fills in the rest. And when I'm on a battlefield I really walk it. I like to go someplace and take a week to walk everything, get a feel for everything, and take a ton of pictures.